Richard Flender

| November 3, 2011 - 11:43am

Richard Flender of East Hampton and Manhattan died on Oct. 26 in Southampton. He was 82.
Mr. Flender was born to Ernst Flender and the former Emily Gallagher on Oct. 5, 1929, in Manhattan. He attended the Buckley School, followed by Milton Academy, and then graduated from Yale University in 1952. Mr. Flender was a first lieutenant in the Air Force from 1952 to 1954. He later attended the University of Virginia, where he earned a J.D. in 1957.
Mr. Flender practiced law for a short time, and then became a banker with J.P. Morgan, where he worked for 35 years.
Mr. Flender and the former Norma Fast were married in Manhattan on June 3, 1960, and “shared more than 50 years of happiness,” his family said.
Mr. Flender was a member of the Maidstone Club, the Century Club, and the Metropolitan Opera Club. He also served on several boards of different charitable organizations. A dedicated skier, golfer, traveler, Rangers fan, and chocolate lover, his family wrote that, “He will be dearly missed for his humor, joie de vivre, certain flair, and lovely manner.”
He was “loved and respected by all who knew him, and in the truest sense, he was simply a delight,” his family said.
Mr. Flender is survived by his wife and two siblings, John O. Flender and Elizabeth (Cindy) Webber. He is also survived by his son, Charles Flender of Wading River, and daughter, Sylvia Scott Flender, of Miami, as well as four grandchildren and four nieces and nephews.
A memorial will be held tomorrow at 1 p.m. at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton, with a reception to follow. The family has suggested donations to the Virgil Thomson Foundation, 254 West 31st Street, 15th Floor, New York 10001.